What We Do

Since 2018, the Too Tired Project has worked to build a worldwide community of photographers and mental health professionals who understand the struggle of depression.

Based in Vermont, USA, the Too Tired Project is a 501c3 non-profit photography initiative committed to helping those struggling with depression by offering a place for collective creative expression. 

We are committed to supporting photographers from all communities, and diversity is paramount to our mission. That means ensuring the work we publish and the communities we connect with are diverse and represent a wealth of life experiences. We also take that same perspective into the selection of Board and staff positions within the organization.

Launched on Instagram in 2018, the Project quickly gained more than 17,000 followers and has received more than 20,000 submissions. Recent press includes NPR, Huff Post, and Polish Vogue.

We have hosted Slideshow Exhibitions—each featuring a digitally projected photo exhibit followed by a panel discussion with photographers and art therapists—across the US, as well as a show at the Leica Gallery in Warsaw, Poland, and one in Melbourne, Australia at the Noir Darkroom Gallery. 

In the near future we will publish a softcover photobook curated from submissions to the Project, which will be a document of life with depression as seen through the eyes of around 50 diverse artists from around the world. All submissions to the Too Tired Project Instagram are in consideration for the book.

The Too Tired Project was founded in 2018 by Tara Wray in response to the positive support she received for her photobook—Too Tired for Sunshine—in which she used photography as a therapeutic tool to express her personal experience with depression and anxiety. 

In 2020 Kelly Burgess joined as the Executive Director.

Tara & Kelly launched Too Tired Press, an arm of the Too Tired Project in late 2020.

“Thanks again for all you are doing to shine a light on these issues. At least for myself, there is often a lot of shame talking about it so an organization working to make it more open to talk, about really encourages and inspires me.”

— TTP Participant